atv cc?

[jack707]

This summer I want to put in a food plot. I will use a ATV to tow either a tiller or buy a disc and a cutipacker My question is how many CC should my ATV be to tow the equipment?.

 

[nybirdman]

My experience with ATV implements............way too light to do much of anything and you can damage your machine if not really careful.You had might better purchase a walk behind tiller.
My nephew took the transmission out of a 700cc ATV trying to use it like a tractor,about $3500 for a new motor/transmission.

 

[jack707]

A walk behind will cut down the size but thanks anyway

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

I have a double row 3' disc that I used to put in a 1 acre food plot with my Polaris Sportsman 700. It pulled it for hours with no problems. Like Bird Man said, ATV implements are too light to get things done quickly, but they do work. It took multiple passes with all the weights and concrete blocks I had strapped to the disc to get it done. Either way I think you don't want anything less than 400cc.

 

[jack707]

That's what I was thinking using blocks to weigh it down.

 

[Xfaxman]

If you don't have an ATV, I think a UTV would do better. Mine has a tow rating of 1500 pounds.
2015 Polaris RANGER EV Avalanche Gray : Specs

I tried to measure the maximum pull with the Crane Scale, didn't work.

Pulled the stump out instead.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ic-polaris-ranger.html?highlight=#post3544626

 

[Avondale]

I highly recommend a liquid cooled machine. My 400 gets way too hot in summer pulling a harrow. My 500 is liquid cooled and a much better option

 

[MoKelly]

I highly recommend a liquid cooled machine. My 400 gets way too hot in summer pulling a harrow. My 500 is liquid cooled and a much better option

1000% agree. This is very important when using an ATV to do work requiring it to run slow for extended periods of time.

MoKelly

 

[DrRod]

I have a Honda 450ES [electric shift]. It has lots of power and I've used it to pull logs, a submerged dock, and lots of other stuff. But my attempts at field work were disappointing. An ATV isn't designed for long, slow, steady work. It is very hard to keep it at a steady speed especially when making turns or going up or down hills. Its like using a sports car where a jeep is needed.

And it always seemed to be in the wrong gear. 1st was too slow, 2nd too fast. Its air cooled so at slow speed it would get really hot. And the thumb throttle is very hard to keep steady. I suspect some people have been able to master this but in three years of trying to mow with a flail mower [another story in frustration] I just never got it right.

I have used a Recon 250 for spraying with much better success. The 15-gallon tank gets strapped to the back rack, the wires get run right to the battery, and the spray wand goes in my left hand. You can't do this with an electric shift because you need that hand for shifting. But again, trolling through the rows [Christmas trees] at slow speed makes it sluggish. Maybe the plugs start to foul or something but I find that about once an hour I need to take it out for a brisk run through the gears and clean things out a bit.

 

[dfkrug]

My question is how many CC should my ATV be to tow the equipment?.

With regard to using an ATV as a tractor:

It is not about power (engine displacement) at all, if you want to pull ground-engaging equipment. It is
about weight, traction, and gearing. There are many 3-ton tractors with only 30 hp.

The heaviest ATVs out there DO have the highest power (Polaris and BRP have 1000cc/1000# quads), but
you can also buy the bigger quads with the big weight with the smaller engine and save some on
cost and fuel use. For example, the AC MudPro 1000 weighs less than 100# more than the AC XR700.
You can get more weight economically with just putting a sand bag on the the front and rear racks.
Mud tires will give you more traction than regular knobby tires, too.

More power only gets you better acceleration and top speed, which are not factors in pulling a disc,
plow, tiller, or trailer.

Note that you can break your tranny, as mentioned above, but you also should be concerned about
damaging your frame. I have fixed numerous bent frames, usually from rollovers.